e
provided one or more pigs for the purpose of his ceremony, and these
will have been killed with the others. He addresses the people and
tells them that he is giving up his office and transferring it to his
successor; but in doing so he says nothing about that successor's title
to succeed, that being always known and recognised. He then sits on
his pig, and hands to his successor a bamboo knife, such as is used
for the cutting up of pigs. The successor, having received the knife,
takes the place of the retiring chief on the pig, and tells the people
that he accepts the office of chief; after which he goes round to all
the pigs which are there in connection with all the various ceremonies
to be gone through, one after another, and in each case makes with
the knife just given to him a small slit at the end of the mouth
of each pig. [78] This act is regarded as a performance by the new
chief of a chiefs office; and, as under present customs the killing
of the pig is commonly done by the pig-killer, and the cutting of it
up is done by anybody, one is tempted to wonder whether the ceremony
points to some chief's duty of the past, which has ceased to exist,
or to some unknown origin of the status of the pig-killer.

Ceremony on Building of a New Emone.

The usual occasion for the building of a new _emone_ is an impending
big feast, the then existing _emone_ in the village being out of
repair, or there being then no true _emone_ in the village. But _emone_
are built at other times also.

The actual building of the _emone_ is carried out by the whole clan
without ceremony; but when it is finished they erect tall slender
straight-stemmed tree poles, passing through the roof of the _emone_,
and to these they tie bunches of croton leaves. When the _emone_ is
being built in anticipation of a big feast, these poles are like,
and in fact are part of the series of, the poles erected for the
purpose of the feast, as above described. Croton leaves are also
attached to poles after the repairing of a then existing _emone_.

In the case of a new _emone_, after its completion they light a fire
in it, and in that fire cook a wild pig; vegetable food is provided,
and the clan, including members of the village and of other villages,
have a little clan feast of the vegetables, followed by a cutting up
and distribution of the pig. But there is no dancing.

CHAPTER X

Matrimonial and Sexual

A boy is regarded as having reach